Axé Capoeira

Axé Capoeira (pronounced AH-shay cap-oh-AIR-ah) was founded in Brazil, first arriving in Canada to perform at the Vancouver International Children's Festival in 1990.

Since then, they have become one of the premier capoeira organizations in North America, with over ten performance DVDs, seven internationally acclaimed music CDs, more than 5,000 school shows and stage performances, and two years running as choreography consultant to So You Think You Can Dance Canada.

Axé Capoeira's show for schools and families is unparalleled in its spectacular combination of dance, acrobatics, music and theatrics.

DuffleBag TheatreInteractive Fairy Tales

In these refreshing adaptations of classic fairy tales, DuffleBag Theatre invites audience members into the show to play the main parts! The resulting excitement and spontaneity creates hilarity for all and forms a perfect introduction to the classics.

Since 1992, “the nearly world-famous” DuffleBag Theatre has wowed audiences of all ages across the country.

Flyin' BobBe the Circus!

From balancing a stack of chairs on his chin to a spectacular and nearly disastrous high-wire walk, Flyin’ Bob takes audiences on a 50-minute search for balance.

Through juggling, clowning, unicycling, acrobatics, wire walking, audience participation, comedy, and character, Be The Circus! stresses the importance of physical activity, concentration, peer support, taking chances, community, and the value of failure as well as success.

Greg Kennedy Innovative Juggler

Innovative Juggler is a combination of high-energy juggling, clean comedy and unique performance pieces. Trained as an engineer, Greg Kennedy uses the principles of geometry and physics to create groundbreaking work with original apparatus.

Greg honed his skills performing for five years with Cirque du Soleil in 25 cities for more than 3 million people. He won the Gold Medal at the International Jugglers' Association Championships, appeared on the Tonight Show and has received over two million views on YouTube. His brilliant blend of impressive feats, rapid-paced wit and the pure beauty of motion amazes audiences everywhere.

InfinitusFrom Handel to Hip-Hop

With over 1,000 educational outreach performances to their credit, Infinitus has captivated student audiences in BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario and the US with their polished, upbeat introduction to instrumental music.

This dynamic trio engages every audience member with music ranging from familiar classics to classic rock, and from TV theme songs to hip-hop beatboxing. Drawing on their vast repertoire, the group engages students with their easygoing stage presence, tailoring each performance to the age range of their audience.

Jacky EssombeAfrican Dance Workshop

Travel to the depths of Africa with professional dancer Jacky Essombe in this day-long workshop. Accompanied by a live drummer, Jacky celebrates the richness and community spirit of African culture using easy-to-follow African dance steps, traditional songs and storytelling.

This shared social, stimulating and bonding experience allows students to interact in a playful and focused way, building important developmental skills and a love for creativity. Available in English, French and bilingual.

Jacky EssombeJacky's Village

Jacky’s Village features music and dance from the African countries of Cameroon and Guinea.

Led by dancer Jacky Essombe, accompanied by her friend Yoro Noukoussi, this participatory performance features music played on a variety of traditional African instruments including djembe, talking drum and shekere.

Audience participation is encouraged throughout the performance in the form of call-and-response, singing, clapping and dancing.

Kattam and His Tam-Tams

To the sound of the balafon, gongoma, djembe, derbouka, naffar, and dhol, percussionist Kattam invites you to discover Africa, the Middle East and India through rhythm, song and dance.

From African rap and desert dance to trance, sufi rhythms and Bollywood dance, Kattam never fails to engage the audience. An incredible multicultural adventure!

Part Quebeçois and part Morrocan, Kattam was first trained in classical music, studying piano, singing and percussion. His keen interest in world music and travel have served as the basis for numerous musical adventures abroad.

This is Kattam's first solo performance, drawn from his extensive experience with youth and family audiences in nearly 200 shows per year. The show has been greeted enthusiastically in both elementary schools and performance venues across Canada.

Professor Wow! The Invisible World of Science

There’s a magical world of science all around us, exerting forces that shape our reality. Professor Wow! uses his mind-boggling circus skills to reveal these invisible forces that are right under our noses. The professor uses floating objects to demonstrate how air pressure works. He breaks the sound barrier with the crack of a bullwhip to give students a visceral understanding of sound waves. He brings the concept of lift to life, helping them understand how airplanes fly. With his expert juggling, Professor Wow! demonstrates Newton’s three laws of motion, the kinetic theory of matter, and more.

Aytahn Ross has been performing professionally for 20 years having wowed and educated one million people around the world as both a solo artist as well as with his signature character The Great Balanzo. Amongst his achievements, he’s been invited to present work at the Banff Arts Centre, performed a solo for Canada’s Governor General, and produced a theatre series at the National Arts Centre.

Rainbow DanceiLumiDance

Dancing light! In this interactive performance, students get to see three dances featuring electronic costumes, props and puppets. The light wire technology not only enchants students with professional dance, it gets them excited about the “technology” component of STEM learning.

The dance artists reveal how they use the STEM engineering design process to create innovative new technologies in dance art, such as wearable electronic costumes and electronic puppets.

Students participate in demonstrations of how engineering design and coding are used to create dances, and selected students are invited up to create their own “ilumidance” with a five-foot-tall light wire puppet.

Rainbow Dance Roots of Hip-Hop

Get ready to embark on a high-energy adventure in cultural history, tracing the popular African-American dance style, hip-hop, back to its roots.

The program begins with the latest hip-hop and break-dance steps.

Then the journey of African-Americans from Africa through slavery to the present is enacted using traditional West African dances, authentic African instruments and costumes, plus audience participation and vignettes such as “hamboning” and “voguing.”

Speed ControlRockology

New Show for 2018/2019 school year!

What makes music rock? Speed Control’s Rockology lifts the curtain to reveal the mechanics of rock music so even grade threes can listen like budding musicians.

Along with original music by Speed Control, students will rock out to Canadian and other classics. They’ll learn to recognize chords in the standard blues progression, how fuzz pedals make everything sound good, what parts make up most rock songs and what makes a power chord so irresistible.

Students will be having too much fun to notice they’re effortlessly absorbing the fundamentals of popular music.

The Great Balanzo

The Great Balanzo is a one-man circus show that is also a story about the imaginative ways to overcome everyday challenges we all face. Balanzo has traveled the world and arrives in Canada in search of a place to call home. As he unpacks his suitcases a magical world literally unfolds, and with the help of audience members he learns what it means to be a good neighbour in this strange and exciting world. Don’t miss Balanzo’s fantastic adventure that includes physical comedy, balancing, juggling, improvisation, and simple themes everyone can relate to.

Tiny IslandsJazzology

There’s no more exciting way to introduce kids to a variety of musical instruments than through the upbeat, can’t-sit-still jazz of the 1920s and ‘30s.

Hailing from a musical family, Tim Sars, veteran leader of Vancouver’s inimitable Carnival Band, has over a decade of experience entertaining and engaging kids and their families with fun, spirited and participatory music.

When Tim teams up with brother Nathan and two more are added rounding out a quartet, they become the group called Tiny Islands.

In their new show, Tiny Islands engages kids of all ages with irresistible tunes by jazz greats like Louis Armstrong, Cab Calloway and Fats Waller.

Trent ArterberryThink Bigg

Trent Arterberry fills the stage with a collection of intriguing characters. Roboman discovers the limits — and extraordinary reach — of his own body. The diminutive dance star Mr. Bigg performs to a dizzying medley of musical styles from rap to Russian folklore.

Worlds of Puppets - Peter and the Wolf

The Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev created the story and the music “Peter and the wolf” in the year 1936 to familiarize young people with the instruments of the symphony orchestra.

Figura Theater of Iceland is the creation of Bernd Ogrodnik, who long served as Master Puppeteer for the country’s National Theater, and is founder and Artistic Director of the Icelandic Center for Puppetry Arts.

Beverley ElliottSink or Swim

With over 100 films and TV credits to her name, writer and performer Beverley Elliott captures her own childhood in her latest gem, Sink or Swim.

We follow along as our heroine trades the safety of the family farm for the thugs of a one-room schoolhouse. With comedic grace and cinematic clarity, Elliott brings to life the big adventures, betrayals and epiphanies of childhood, answering life’s big questions, like “Why did I eat the fish food?”

Brendan McLeodBrain & Other Stories

A hilarious, heartbreaking monologue about consciousness, mental health, and friendship from award-winning novelist and former Canadian poetry SLAM champ Brendan McLeod.

Brain maps Brendan’s experiences both as a young man struggling to understand his obsessions and as an adult battling psychosis. A nuanced journey through the nature of thought, and an optimistic exploration of the importance of friendship, Brain is an upbeat, intense comedy about the miracle of the mind. (50 minutes)

Other Stories — The perfect pairing with Brain for presenters wanting a second act following intermission or for secondary schools looking for an alternative to Brain. Brendan performs a wide variety of original stories, songs and poems with an emphasis on hilarity.

Workshops are available in performance poetry, song writing, creative writing.

Hagen & McLeodExultation

Spoken-word artist and former Canadian SLAM champion Brendan McLeod intersperses stories and poems.

The result is a narrative journey through Rachmaninoff’s life, from his exile from Russia to his battle with depression, tireless work ethic and dedication to beauty. Exultation explores the estrangements, losses and redemptions at the heart of contemporary political and social life.

InfinitusBeatboxing String Trio

Infinitus is a critically acclaimed beatboxing string trio known for their unique sound and upbeat performance style. Their repertoire features classical standards and original jazz/hip-hop arrangements and compositions. Formed in 2008 by violist Anthony Cheung, cellist Alex Cheung and violinist John “Adidam” Littlejohn, Infinitus is quickly becoming one of North America’s premiere chamber groups.

Collectively, the members hold degrees from the University of Michigan and the Peabody Conservatory and have won local, national and international awards. They have performed extensively throughout North America presenting community performances, soloing with orchestras and conducting masterclasses, workshops and seminars. Dedicated to quality outreach, Infinitus has given over 1,000 performances in schools, nursing homes, juvenile detention centres and hospitals.

Infinitus has been featured on CBC, National Public Radio, OMNI Television and in numerous publications. They have released two albums, “Infinitus” and “Christmas Fantasia,” and have performed at some of the world’s best venues, including a six-performance Lincoln Center Residency in New York City.

Currently based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Infinitus performs regularly as part of the Vancouver Chamber Players Concert Series and is on the faculty of the Thrive City String Boot Camp, the Saint James Music Academy and the Vancouver Academy of Music.

Worlds of PuppetsMetamorphosis

Metamorphosis features a collection of hilarious scenarios and imaginative vignettes performed by a cast of intricate, hand-carved marionettes and sometimes just a silk scarf and the hands of the puppeteer.

Figura Theater of Iceland is the creation of Bernd Ogrodnik, who long served as Master Puppeteer for the country’s National Theater, and is founder and Artistic Director of the Icelandic Center for Puppetry Arts.